Chapter 3: Page 16
Wow, looks like Quin’s growing a bit of a spine! I guess everybody has their limit, and Quin’s seems to be: “Threaten my kingdom with war because one of our captains went off his rocker for some reason and killed a Canid general and seriously I have no idea why he would do that also stop torturing my friend he’s had a bad day.”
Not sure Tosch will appreciate the sass, but hey!
I will not be attending GDC this year in San Francisco, but I have just recently locked down a talk in North Carolina this April! I will be speaking at the East Coast Games Conference in Raleigh, talking about crafting “non-invasive narrative” — so if you’re in the area and have a passing interest in game development or interactive storytelling, do consider nabbing a pass and swinging by!
Also, Rachel has been in the middle of a move for the last many days, but she was indeed able to crank out a cute little Valentine’s Day doodle for everyone:
Quin and Jan hanging out and goofing off by a brook somewhere in Sunsgrove. It’s cute! :D It’s also nice to see Quin not strung up in a dungeon.
This week for guest art, I wanted to show this piece from Chris Sketch of Janik wielding a bow atop an ostrich! I wanted to share this sooner, but I think I marked the image incorrectly or something because it disappeared down some rabbit hole in my guest art folder. Check this awesomeness out!
The ostriches have quickly become a fun visual motif for the world of the Western Deep, and while we haven’t seen any of the rideable breeds yet, those suckers are pretty big! This is a pretty good take on them, Chris! And thank you as always for the awesome artwork!
now this will be interesting form Quin himself
“Yeah son! You don mess with mah boy Quin there General Tosch! That’s right you stick that chin up and look that scary looking wolf man in the eye!”
Anyway, I’m glad Rachel managed to draw something out for Valentines because that picture of Quinlan and Janik is just too awww. As well as Chris’s drawing! but with more of an ahhh! Makes me wonder how Janik would normally fight with. Her Tesque? a sword? a knife? a bow? who knows!
Tesque and a dagger hidden in her sleeve gets my vote.
I’m surprised Quin managed to drive Tosch into a corner. at least he can justify his reasons for literally getting dragged into a Game of Thrones-style political mess, unlike *someone* else here… *looks at the Tosch and entire Canid army*
nice guest art! I like the concept of riding an ostrich into battle! not sure if this is badass or just plain silly, though…
Haha backbone, this I like seeing!
I mean, Quin has a spine that’s about twice as long as a human’s, so it’s only rational that we’d see it at some point . . .
Be careful, Quin. But I’m glad to see our favorite captain finally hitting his breaking point and putting his foot down. I’m sure Tosch will take the sass well, judging by that pleasant expression in the last panel. There’s a lot to like about this page. And then there’s the super cute valentine doodle from Rachel! The fanart is lovely too. Always nice to see more Janik.
It is nice to see more Janik!
Her reappearance at the start of this chapter was just a taste, I hope we get more soon.
Looks like this is the point where Quin will be coming into his own, from the timid fresh-faced Tamian to whatever it is he will have to become in the troubling times ahead.
And there Quin goes, pointing out the massive gaping logical flaw in an otherwise perfect revenge-by-proxy scheme. It’s fun to watch Tosch slam headfirst into an invisible argument brick wall.
Just be careful, Quin, too much of this and you’ll get your friend tortured again while you’re set free and told to hurry home before an angry army beats you there.
Quin needs to keep in mind the lack of canid humor. Also I like Chris Sketch’s fan art for this week. I hope we get to see more of mounted soldiers in the future.
This talk will never end. :P
It’s only six text-light pages so far. I suppose it feels long since it’s been a week between updates, but I’m not quite sure what you’re in a hurry for.
As someone who in my own writing tends toward prose so massively dialogue-driven that it makes “Western Deep” read like a breeze, I have no problem whatsoever with protracted conversations, as long as they’re interesting and well done. “BWD” meets that criteria on every level.
I did not expect this since quins first impression on me was that of a pushover but now with this action he is starting to grow into someone stronger.
Oh wow, this is such a surprise. seems like Quin is starting to bark back. :D
Also, thanks, glad you like the fan art. I had no idea they weren’t ride able breeds. just that when I saw it, I thought they were like horses. X3
Some are indeed rideable, but the more common breeds (like the ones we saw in Janik’s scene) are used only as pack animals. And thank you again for the wonderful art, Chris! :)
Quin back-talking Tosch, a Canid general? Of his own free will!? Something’s happening here and it looks like we’re in for another ride!
On another note, I’ve recently been binge-reading (or rereading, at least) the whole series up until this point, and I ran into a few unfinished pages back in Chapter 2, which I’m sure was finished more or less a couple years ago (it’s been a long while). They’re pages 50, 51, 71, 73, 74, 82, 92, and 94. Are those going to be fixed some time in the future?
What?! Unfinished pages!? That’s crazy! That’s… that’s… exactly what happened, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe those were never updated, so I spent some time this morning putting the right files in. Every page in chapter 2 should now be in its actually-finished state. If you notice anything else, please let me know!
Sorry about that, and thanks for catching it and supplying me with the page numbers! Made swapping out the pages much easier :)
Goodness, the cojones on this one. Snapping back at the very large canine with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a very large sword with a sharp blade.
Oh, so we’re doing the “proxy punishing” thing. I would have expected the Canim to be above that.
And if you crane your necks to the left Quinlan’s teeth are starting to show. Always knew he had it in him- I mean, he is a battle-hardened warrior (just not against other people, lol) so it’s nice to see him stand up to Tosch. Whether or not it’s advisable is another question entirely- Tosch still has all the power here and all the awesomeness from Quin won’t make his brother any less of a doorstop than he is at the moment. That said, I bet Caldus is very, very proud right now. He’d probably be prouder if Quin actually put a blade between Tosch’s ribs, but hey. Baby steps.
I also really like this exchange because Quinlan not only shows his rank here, but he also makes Tosch take a step back. Until now, Tosch has controlled the conversation- as the theatrics with the quarrel and Dakkan indicate. However, Quinlan’s breaking the script here and the fact that Tosch is asking Quinlan to restate his point indicates that Tosch is unable to immediately turn the conversation in his favor. Quinlan’s making him hesitate. I bet Clovis wouldn’t believe it if you’d told him Quinlan gave his brother pause however long ago Clovis wasn’t dead.
….How long has Quin been out anyway? Days? Hours?
I really love the continuity between pages and panels here, and the easy way everything flows together. The intensity of this scene really comes off, and it’s a beautiful rendering of a great moment for Quin.